NASCAR-SJAPS: Query Leads Slim Jim All Pro Series into St. Augustine

15 April 1998

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.-After notching his second win in as many tries,
Mooresville, N.C.'s Freddie Query leads the point standings of the Slim
Jim
All Pro Series, part of NASCAR's Touring Division, heading into the fourth
event of the 1998 season. This Saturday night the $47,950 Winn Dixie 200
will be run at St. Augustine Speedway, a track that recently signed a
sanctioning agreement with NASCAR to become a Winston Racing Series
facility.
Query has piloted his W.J. Plemons Insurance Chevrolet to two wins and one
second place finish after three events. His win at Miami-Dade Homestead
Motorsports Complex occurred in his first ever run at the 1.5 mile
superspeedway. This weekend's event will also represent Query's first run
at the 0.500 mile d-shaped oval. If his early season successes are any
indication, it could be a long night for the rest of the Slim Jim All Pro
Series drivers.

Last year's Bud Pole winner, Sugar Hill, Ga.'s Steven Christian, currently
sits in second place in the point standings and certainly knows the fast
way
around the relatively flat oval. The BellSouth Chevrolet driver led from
the drop of the green flag last year but was caught up in a multi-car
accident that eliminated his chance for the win.

Sorrento, Fla.'s Ronnie Burkett currently leads the rookie-of-the-year
standings, and trails Christian by one point in the overall points.
Burkett
has proven to be a quick study as he has notched a top five and a top 10
finish at the wheel of his family-owned Big Daddy's BBQ Chevrolet so far
this season.

Zephyrhills, Fla.'s David Reutimann, last year's rookie-of-the-year, has
perhaps the most experience at St. Augustine as he used to run on the
facility's dirt surface prior to the track being paved during the 1997
off-season. Reutimann has driven his QMI Pontiac to a fourth place points
position so far this season and is hungry to capture his first Slim Jim
All
Pro Series win.

On Saturday, Registration and Inspection begins at 9:00 a.m. with
Practice
being held from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Bud Pole qualifying gets underway at
6:00
p.m. with the green flag waving on the Winn Dixie 200 at approximately
8:00 p.m.
The starting field will consist of 32 starters, with up to four additional
starting positions available to any of the top 30 eligible drivers in the
final 1997 NASCAR Slim Jim All Pro Series Championship point standings,
who
have entered the event, but have not qualified for one of the original 32
starting positions.

FIELD: 36 cars. Starting positions 1-32 will be determined by time
trials
(2 laps), positions 33-36 will be available to any of the top 30 eligible
drivers in the final 1997 NASCAR Slim Jim All Pro Series
Championship point
standings, who have entered the event, but have not qualified for one of
the
original 32 starting positions. If a starting position(s) remains
unfilled,
then that starting position(s) will become available to the next eligible
car from the qualifying procedure for the event.

THE RACE: The Winn Dixie 200 is the fourth of 19 events on the 1998
series
schedule. Consisting of 200 laps, the race will be the second Slim Jim
All
Pro Series event to be run at the D-shaped 0.500 mile oval.

1997 REVIEW: Milford, Oh.'s Jeff Fultz picked up his lone 1997 win in
the
inaugural run for the Slim Jim All Pro Series cars at St. Augustine
Speedway. Fultz benefited from an early race skirmish that collected then
race leaders Steven Christian and Derrick Gilchrist. When the dust
settled
Fultz held off Mike Harmon for the win. Ron Young, Nipper Alsup and Skip
Pannell rounded out the top five finishers. Alsup dominated the event,
leading 127 laps, but was unable to maintain the lead when his race car
developed a loose condition late in the event.

NOTES OF INTEREST:
The track now boasts a larger paved pit area resulting in better
amenities
for the race teams.
St. Augustine Speedway recently signed a sanction agreement with
NASCAR to
become a NASCAR Winston Racing Series facility.
A Slim Jim All Pro Series Driver Appearance/Car Show is scheduled for
Friday afternoon, from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Winn Dixie on U.S. Highway
1. Additional details can be secured by calling Hope Jones at St.
Augustine
Speedway.
A new race winner will be crowned as last year's inaugural event
winner,
Jeff Fultz, no longer runs full time with the Slim Jim All Pro Series.
The Winn Dixie 200 will be the final event where provisional starting
positions are based on 1997 point standings. Beginning with next week's
event at Greenville-Pickens Speedway, provisionals will be based on 1998
points.

STAT OF THE WEEK: Series points leader Freddie Query is one finishing
position short of perfection after the first three events of the 1998
season. In three starts Query has two wins and one second place
finish.

MEDIA SERVICES: NASCAR Online, NASCAR's Official Internet Site on the
World
Wide Web can be accessed at http://www.nascar.com and offers up to the
minute information on the Slim Jim All Pro Series and all of NASCAR's
racing
divisions.

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